Anonymous Blog / Article
I was there…the day I first heard of the frightening reality of what materials could be found in the city libraries and the local public schools.
I was there…speaking with other concerned community members as we grappled to understand the gravity of our situation, especially in the most rural areas and library branches.
I was there…in prayer circles as we prayed over the situation and asked God for wisdom, guidance, and courage to confront what we would now never be able to forget. The sickening images, the pervasive messages, and the apparent agenda to corrupt and attack our children, our families, and future generations.
I was there…reading books about how other communities had fought back and joining social media groups, discussion boards, and chat threads to learn how to become engaged and empowered.
I was there…attending the various local school board meetings to support their detailed review of books and evaluation of the materials.
I was there…pouring over library catalogs, reading independent book reviews, and researching the history of institutions. We could not have gotten here by mistake when I saw the national and international impact of the movement afoot.
I was there…in conversations with lawyers and state legal, scholarly, and statutory experts as we educated ourselves on contemporary community standards, who would be considered the average person in our county, and who would find specific materials to meet the definitions of obscene, sexually explicit, or pornographic.
I was there…in the Sheriff's office as we discussed the application of the laws and how our County Prosecutors might handle a case if one were to be brought from a family damaged by the materials in these libraries.
I was there…in crowded rooms as concerns were shared, current systems were exposed, and calls to action rang out.
I was there…in strategy discussions and sharing what we had learned since we last met. Lunch breaks and coffee meetings, after long work days and sacrificed weekend afternoons spent gathering, teaching, researching, and planning solutions.
I was there…as we sought out professionals in Counseling, Therapy, and Child Psychology and read countless studies on the lasting impacts of childhood traumas and hypersexualization.
I was there…as we called on God’s name to give us the courage to move from a silent watcher in the back of a room to signing up and speaking out. Our voices shook, we stumbled on our words, but we knew it was the right thing to do.
I was there…sharing what I had learned with neighbors, voters, and anyone I met who was awakening to the realities of the modern world.
I was there… as we did it scared, as we did it imperfectly, as we prayed unceasingly for protection over the children.
I was there…when we found mentors and those who had been fighting for years. We sought wisdom and absorbed what they shared with gratitude for the connection and reduced learning curve.
I was there…as we spoke out and appealed to the mutual goal that we surely must all have: keeping children healthy and safe. We appealed to parents and guardians to stay engaged and vigilant in their role as protectors. Even when we shared different values, we sought common ground and shared goals even as tensions rose, and we shared our passions and beliefs.
I was there…as God opened doors. As plans became clear on how to effect change, We found small victories, invited in more prayer warriors, and grew our movement.
I was there… as changes were made, slow at first, month by month. As we reminded ourselves in times, we grew weary of how far we had come and how God was by our side to continue the fight.
I was there…the first time that we felt like we had perhaps what felt like a large victory. We celebrated and praised God for what He was doing!
I was there…as we gave the warriors grace to take breaks, focus on their areas of strength, and remind them that their efforts, big and small, were not in vain.
I was there…to see that our work was far from done, but it would have a Kingdom impact, not because of our skills, investments, or hard work, but because of what God was doing through us. Even when we stumbled, lost our tempers, or took missteps. It wasn’t us, but God through us that would have victory.
But through it all, I was there.